


Two Halves Make A Whole

by Karliah



Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout 4
Genre: Angst, F/M, I NEEDED THIS, Insert, Language, Nick being his usual self-hating ass, Pining, Pre-Relationship, Slow Burn, Violence, self-deprecation, suggested violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-04
Updated: 2020-01-15
Packaged: 2020-04-07 19:39:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,243
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19091752
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Karliah/pseuds/Karliah
Summary: It's the damsel in distress scenario all over again. This time though, a pair of guns can't solve the problem.Sole has been travelling with her favourite toaster for quite a while now, but one day he just disappeared. As it turned out, the Brotherhood doesn't take too kindly to Synths entering their territory.With Nick's life on the line, Sole is willing to sacrifice everything she can to save him. She loves Nick after all.Not that he knows about that, of course.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> There's not enough of Nick/Readers out there, so I decided to write a little something. Please tell me if there's any typos, grammatical errors or sentences that don't make any sense. English is not my native language, but I try. :)

"Where is he?" Her voice was like poison and she looked like a snake ready to strike.

And really, who could blame her? After all, she had just reached her home after a whole day of helping settlements get rid of bloodbug and rad rat nests, ready to fall into her bed and not get up for the next ten hours, when she saw Deacon sitting on her porch. Even with sunglasses hiding his eyes, she could immediately tell that this was not a social call.  
So here she was, having just paved her way through a nest of super mutants, the clouds above her the same unholy green as the bodies had she emptied her guns in, drenched to the bone in rad-rain.

"Who? No idea what you're talkin' about, soldier", Rhys replied and she was tempted to call out for Danse, but if he was here, he'd know better than holding Nick captive, not after he saved his life and helped him retrieve the deep range transmitter from ArcJet Systems. Which meant she had to bail Nick out on her own. Sole's hands twitched, eager to grab the holstered pistol at her hip. Not that it would be a good idea, what with her standing outside of the now heavily guarded Cambridge Police Station.

Instead she just took a deep breath and a step closer. "Bullshit. I have my sources and they saw how the Brotherhood kidnapped him. So... where. Is. He?" The knight narrowed his eyes at her, giving in.

"Your _friend_ should have known better than to enter our territory." When her right hand finally _did_ land on the holster, he relented. " _It_ is in one of the cells."

Immediately, Sole pushed him aside, storming into the building and down the stairs, with him hot on her heels. Looking through the slits of the first cell door, she froze. Fear seized her heart, a feeling similar to pins and needles prickling all over her skin and the young woman broke out into a cold sweat. What she was seeing couldn't be real, or was she too late? Sole had hoped that she'd never have to see Nick like this - unmoving, cables spilling out of his opened up body and _so, so vulnerable. Just_  because he was a Synth. Seething, she whirled around to face the smug looking knight.

"What? We're in dire need of more materials and as I'm sure you're aware, the Commonwealth is not exactly filled with valuable metals-"

"So you're just taking him apart? I can't believe-!" Turning around again, she went to open the door, when a hand entered her field of vision, coming to rest on the wall next to her head, effectively separating Sole from the only way to Nick as Rhys pushed himself between her and the door to the cell.

"I'm afraid I can't let you enter, soldier. We can't just let you take away our property. There's nothing you can do about it."

"Property? He's not a damn thing, you-", swallowing the rest of her sentence, she took another deep breath. In. Out. Insulting him and getting angry would only make this more difficult, she reasoned with herself. "Are you sure that there's really _nothing_ I can do?"

"Well, there's _one_ thing that might convince me to reconsider." The tone in his voice made her stomach churn and she lowered her voice, not wanting Nick to hear her in case he was even conscious right now. Judging from the way his breastplate was opened up with some mechanic digging around his torso, their hands covered in oil and grime, he probably wasn't. Holding back the urge to vomit, she shook her head, not wanting to think about everything the mech was destroying right now.

"Surely there's another way. I have a lot of caps on me, so you can buy the material you need instead." He shook his head. Sole couldn't believe she was doing this - but she would do anything for Nick. This was disgusting. If only Danse was here, would help her out. But this was Knight L. Rhys, member of Recon Squad Gladius, and boy did he hate her. Perhaps she could have saved their scribe Haylen if she had come to their aid only a little earlier, back when they were attacked by a group of Ferals. Alas, there was nothing Sole could have done. She came to the Police Station as soon as she heard the distress call, but Rhys blamed her for Haylen's death anyway. This whole 'we need materials' excuse was just a way for him to have a reason to make another Synth suffer, she knew it.  
Breathe in. Breathe out. "I don't want any 'reconsideration'. Promise me to let him free and stop _taking his body apart_." To make her suffer this way was pathetic, but she would endure it if it meant that her favourite Synth would get out of this hellhole alive.

 _Be glad that I can't just kill you, or you would already have a bullet going straight through your small brain._ And she really wanted to hurt him, but she couldn't risk it with the mechanic so close to a defenseless Nick.

"You have my word. Well then, the Brotherhood gladly accepts your service. If you would follow me... oh, and Raston, put him back together", he called out to the mech, already halfway at the staircase. Sole hoped dearly that Nick would not have any permanent damage from this or god help her, she was going to burn this station down.

•♦•

Footsteps echoed in the basement. His first instinct was to raise his head to see what was going on, only to be reminded yet again that he couldn't move at all. Resigning to having to wait and see, he wanted to groan when he heard the one voice he never wanted to hear again.

"We're in dire need of more materials and as I'm sure you're aware, the Commonwealth is not exactly filled with valuable metals-"

"So you're just taking him apart? I can't believe-!" For a second he thought his sensors were malfunctioning, but he couldn't help but feel relieved. She was here.  _The hero to save the damsel in distress yet again._

He wanted to call out to her, but he couldn't move, couldn't speak, couldn't even open his damn eyes. The brute of a mechanic had cut through the wires that controlled his movement to prevent him from struggling. Bastard.  
Said bastard shoved his hand into the mess that was his torso again, his fingers sometimes catching on wires and the likes, seemingly looking for something.  _Oh no, don't you-_

The pain that suddenly blossomed from where the mechanic gripping onto some of the wires and tried pulling them away was unbearable. If he was human, he would have either passed out or screamed at the top of his lungs, he was sure of it. But alas, he could only lay there, not being able to lift a finger. The only thing Nick could do to try blending out the agony was focusing on her voice.

"Are you sure that there's really _nothing_ I can do?"

"Well, there's _one_ thing that might convince me to reconsider." _That **pig**._

Sole's voice got considerably quieter, almost whispering. "Surely there's another way. I have a lot of caps on me, so you can buy the material you need instead."  _Please tell me she not seriously considering-_ "...I don't want any reconsideration. Promise me to let him free and stop _taking his body apart_."  _Doll, what are you doing?!_

He wanted to scream, not because of the pain but because of what she was about to do. This couldn't be happening. Why would she trade her body in exchange for the freedom of an old, battered bot?  _I won't be able to look her in the eye **ever again**._

"You have my word. Well then, the Brotherhood gladly accepts your service. If you would follow me... oh, and Raston, put him back together."

_No. No, no, no. Sole, don't you dare-_

The rest of his thoughts was drowned by the piercing pain.

•♦•

When it was finally over, Rhys accompanied her to the cells and opened the door, as promised, giving Raston the signal to enable the Synth's ability to move again. As soon as the wires in his neck were repaired again, Nick was already on his feet, pushing the mechanic into the wall with his metallic hand around his throat.

"Nick, stop." She sounded tired. "It's not worth the trouble." His eyes glanced towards her for a second and he tightened his grip, the disheveled hair and forming bruises sending daggers through his heart, if he had one. "Please, let's just go."

Raston collapsed and broke out into a coughing fit as Nick stepped over his crumpled form towards the exit, not looking at her. He just couldn't.

"Lead the way, doll."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I already typed half of the second chapter, but I barely have any time to write, so bear with me.
> 
> Tell me if you liked it or not. I know it's kinda short, but I'm impatient when writing. :(


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Both Nick and his partner seem to have suffered some damage from the incident back at the Cambridge Police Station.  
> Now they have to fix it.

Never before had Nick felt this awkward and ashamed in his life. Everyone knew him as the smooth detective that always knew what to do, but now he felt lost. His amber eyes flickered over to his companion every so often, trying to figure out what to say. Or if he should say anything at all. From the way she had been walking ahead of him for the whole time, Sole probably wanted to be left alone for now.

How he wished he could just grab a smoke from the pack that was in the pocket of his trench-coat to distract himself, but some parts must have broken down after he had shoved Raston into the wall none too gently. The damn mechanic had damaged a lot of the wires and delicate machinery and Nick actually had to convince Sole not to throw a Mininuke through the station's window on their way out when she saw how badly he was injured. That was the last time they had spoken and that was an hour ago.

He felt so utterly useless. If he had it his way, he would have just returned to Diamond City and get some poorly conducted repairs, but Sole insisted on getting him to her old home town, mumbling something about having stored quite a lot of Synth-parts from her encounters with the less friendly bunch of the Institute's children there. And Nick needed some replacements, badly. Not only that, but with his defective arms hanging loosely at his sides, he couldn't make the trip home alone anyway. So for better or worse, he was stuck following her.

Sometimes, when he felt the urge to play with the rim of his hat out of habit, he'd forget that his arms were not functioning, only to be reminded again by the stabbing pain that pulsed through his artificial nervous system and the grating noise of metal components rubbing together in places they shouldn't. And each time Sole heard his painful hiss, her head snapped around so fast, he was almost worried she'd break her neck, her eyes widened in worry and panic that he could break down so far away from Sanctuary, out in the open with nothing to repair him close by.

Except from the few times they ran into Raiders or Ferals, those were the only times he got to see her face - and what he saw, troubled him. Whenever she turned around to check if he was still safe and sound, still unable to defend himself, he could see it her expression. The way her lips were closely pressed together, brows scrunched up and nostrils twitching made it clear that there was a lot to talk about as soon as they reached their destination.

When Sanctuaries Hills came into view, he could actually feel the dread crawling up his spine and weighing him down as he dragged himself up the muddy path towards the Red Rocket station.

Nick frowned. He could have sworn that last time he checked, Sole wasn't this far ahead. Maybe he should stop getting so lost in thought, but he was so afraid that this could mean the end of their friendship, that he couldn't help himself. Sighing, he tried pushing all those gloomy thoughts away to catch up with Sole, only to find out that his body didn't want to co-operate.

Getting nervous, he called out to his companion. "Uh, doll? I think something is wrong." Within a moment's notice, she was at his side.

"Shit, that's not good. Do you think you can still make it to Red Rocket?"

He was about to shrug his shoulders, but thought better of it. "Not sure, but I can try."

The last couple meters were agonizing. The slower he got, the more painful it became. He could feel how somewhere in his body, some of his parts were rubbing together in all the wrong places, wearing each other down faster than he would have liked. Probably broken beyond repair by now.

_I can only hope she has enough spare parts. After all she went through, I don't want to send her on a wild goose chase while I sit around here waiting for her to come back like a lost puppy._

With a mix of an exhausted groan and a relieved sigh, he slid down the wall inside what once was a gas station of sorts, glad that Sole didn't have to drag his sorry metal ass the last couple steps.

"Alright, I'm gonna get everything prepared. Don't move."

The look he gave her was so nonplussed, she actually had to smile. "Very funny."

Within what must have been five minutes, Sole had spread an array of tools around them, ranging from isolated screwdrivers to wire-strippers, tongs, scissors and everything else that might come in handy. Right now she was dragging a large trash container with wheels on all four ends behind her, having to walk at a 45 degree angle to get it to move. Huffing, she came to a stand in front of him.

"So... do you... know what's wrong?" Sole asked, still panting while he ran some diagnostics.

"Well, there's definitely something wrong with the machinery in my shoulders. The scans show a bunch of errors concerning the neural network too, our  _friendly_ Brotherhood fella did a poor job fixing me back up."

"You know, the Cambridge Station is probably in range of at least one settlement with artillery, are you sure I shouldn't just-"

"Yeah, I'm pretty damn sure. Remind me not to anger you while you're at it." Chuckling, Sole shook her head and took off her thick jacket, using it as a pillow for her knees after she checked if the ground was clean. Well, as clean as you can get for a building that has been abandoned for 200 years. As she knelt down, she looked over the variety of tools, fluttering her fingers while doing so.

"Right. Let's see - are those Phillips or slotted-head screws?"

"They're... I don't know, actually. Hey, don't look at me like that."

Sole rolled her eyes. "Seriously, you're impossible. I can't work like this." Bending forward, she fiddled with the buttons on his signature trench-coat for a minute before sliding the thing off. "Can you move your arms at all?" Nick shook his head. "Ugh, I'm pretty sure I have spare shirts your size somewhere in Sanctuary. Hope you're not too attached to this one."

Leaning to the side, she grabbed the pair of scissors and cut a neat line from bottom to top, before discarding the leftovers. She had to  squint her eyes at the tiny screws that were littered all across his breastplate, before grabbing the red screwdriver to her left.

"Tell me if you're uncomfortable or in pain", she mumbled in concentration, carefully loosening the screws before setting them aside in one of the various bowls she had brought.

At that, Nick had to chuckle and she could swear she actually felt the rumble vibrating through his body although it was virtually impossible. "You're about to dig through my body. I dunno if that's your thing, but it sounds like the definition of uncomfortable to me."

"Eh, details." They went silent after that.

Assessing the damage required her full attention and Nick couldn't help but watch how she carefully moved aside wires, frowning and absentmindedly biting her lip in thought. How could he look at anything else when she was so close? Not to mention the position they were in, with him sitting against the wall and her kneeling right in front of the old Synth. If she were to come any closer, Sole might as well be straddling him. He wouldn't mind.

_Get your mind out of the gutter. It's not gonna happen._

"I think I can see what's wrong with your arms." Her voice was soft, almost a whisper, as she inspected the mechanisms; one hand was planted firmly on his shoulder to keep her from tipping over, the other was gently pushing aside tubes and wires. And her head. It was so close that if he were to look down, he could kiss her forehead.

_Don't make it any weirder than it already is._

"Something you can fix?"

Leaning back, she stood up to look through the container she had brought. "Yeah. I just need to replace some parts. The Brotherhood should kick that mechanic out, he doesn't seem to know what he's doing." Her voice was bitter and she pushed the lid back with a bit more force than what was necessary. Even from the ground he could see legs, heads and single parts sticking out from the top.

"You building a collection or somethin'?"

Sole had to step on a protruding edge on the side of the makeshift storage to be able to bend forward to carefully rummage through the various Synth body-parts. "Well, _someone_ has to in case my favourite partner in crime gets in trouble. Ah, there we go." Pulling out a lump of cables, bare wires and pistons connected to what could have been an arm, she jumped down and sat down slightly off to his right. After grabbing another isolated screwdriver, the woman set to work, removing the whole damaged apparatus in his shoulder.

"I sure hope you know what you're doing, doll." Yellow irises peered down at what once was part of him in her hands. Nick felt uneasy knowing how badly this could end, but there's nobody he trusted more than Sole.

He'd sacrifice his life to protect her.

_Oh, you got it bad, old Nicky. Why did the Institute think it was a good idea to give someone like me the capability to feel like this, again?_

"Of course I do. So, just for your information, I'm gonna go ahead and disconnect the power for your arms. Might feel a bit weird." She picked up the mess of cables and mechanisms from the spare parts depot and pointed to something in its centre that looked awfully similar to the bent lump that had been in his body a few minutes prior. "Then I'm gonna get this stuff sorted out, install it and everything should work fine once I turn the power back on. You should probably run a few diagnostics just to make sure. Alright?"

"Sure, sure", he mumbled absentmindedly, thinking how it was sweet of her to talk to him like a doctor would to a patient, explaining the procedures to calm his nerves before an operation.

_Almost makes me feel like an actual person._

Seeing Nick frown, she stopped. "Does it hurt?"

"Not at all, but... Doesn't it feel weird to you? I mean, you call me your partner and all that, but isn't it weird that you have to repair some  _thing_ that you consider a friend?" When he saw how the corners of her mouth pulled down every so slightly, her lips pressed tightly together, he knew that he was about to get scolded again. Nick just couldn't help himself, with how close and caring Sole was right now, he wished more than ever that he was a bit more like them. More human. Somebody you could be more than friends with. An actual person with an own mind, own memories and own unique body.

She didn't respond right away, distracting herself with the repairs instead. "Does it matter if it's a dislocated shoulder or dislocated metal? It doesn't make you any less of a person. Synth or human, we all need repairs every now and then, you know? I wouldn't be doing this if I was uncomfortable with it. Well, okay, I'd be doing this anyway, cause it's you, but I think you get my drift."

"Ya always know what to say." He sighed, the back of is head thumping against the wall. "Thanks doll... for everything. To be honest with you... I can't... I mean-" Collecting himself, he closed his eyes, too ashamed to look her in the eyes. "I can't ever pay you back for what you've done for me. Just thinking about it makes me feel so angry and horrible that he even had the guts to ask that of you. And really, I just can't understand why, I'm just an old bot, for gods sake!" Nick didn't want to raise his voice, but how could he not?

"Because your _life_ was on the line, Nick", she whispered, leaning her head forward against his shoulder. "There are things much worse happening outside, innocents are being murdered, tortured and mutilated for entertainment."

Exasperated, he glanced down at her, but Sole kept her face hidden. "Nobody should have to trade their body for something, especially not a dame like you."

"It was my decision and I don't regret it because I can get over it. I couldn't have dealt with losing you, though." With that, she hugged him closely, screwdriver still in her hand. "I've lost enough already, I couldn't stand losing anyone else." His sensors registered moisture, closely followed by the sound of a muffled sob.

"I'm sorry, doll. I really am. But, I've lived over a hundred years, might as well add another hundred. I can't promise anything, but I'll try to be more careful in the future, how does that sound?" Pre-war Nick hadn't been very good at comforting and he bet he was even worse. Despite that, Sole seemed to slowly unlatch herself from him and gave him a watery smile.

"We both know your second name is 'trouble', Mister Valentine." Taking another shaky breath, she picked the spare parts back up and began working again. "But I guess that's what connects us, doesn't it? Let's get you fixed up, wouldn't want you to collect dust."

"Hey, now you're just being mean." He couldn't help but smile anyway, infinitely grateful that she wasn't mad or blaming him for the incident at the police station, wondering what the hell he did that such a run-down Synth as him deserved such a good friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, if you see any typos or errors, please don't hesitate to tell me.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry it took so long!

"Remember when you told me how you were a, I quote,  _synthetic man -_ a _ll the parts, minus a few red blood cells_? I think you're missing a few organs, Nick." She glanced at her partner, watching him push back his fedora as he turned his head towards her. Thankfully, he seemed to be be doing even better than before this whole drama with his body breaking down and whatnot began. If she had to be completely honest with herself, to be able to look inside his body and see how he worked with her own eyes had amazed her. She would never admit that though, should Nick ever ask.

"What, are you calling me heartless?"

Sole laughed, despite the fact that he said it in such a self-depreciating manner. Sometimes, she couldn't believe how smooth he was.

"Wouldn't dream of it. Besides you do have a heart... equivalent", she said, leaning back in the armchair and letting her gaze wander over the shelves filled with various bottles behind the counter across the room. "But seriously, what do you need lungs for?"

"Pneumatics, mostly. Without them, I wouldn't be able to control my facial expressions. Smelling and smoking are an added bonus, I suppose." The synthetic skin around his eyes crinkled slightly as he smiled, amused by the face Sole was making, with her lips slightly parted and eyebrows raised and with such a shine to her eyes as if he'd just answered the question of the meaning of life itself. Knowing her, she was probably bursting with questions about him and now that she took the first step, the floodgates were open. Tapping the side of the cigarette he was holding with his metallic hand, he prepared himself for a long game of questions and answers.

"Fair enough. What about something like kidneys or livers for example?"

"It's not always about inner values with Synths in that case. Seeing as I don't eat and drink, I have no need for a filtration system. I've been craving a chocolate cake for the better part of a hundred years, though."

"Damn, no wonder you're so grumpy sometimes." Sole raised her hands defensively when Nick fixed her with an unamused glare. "Can you taste things, though?" She raised her glass filled with what they called whiskey - but really it was just some horrendous golden-brownish substance that coincidentally contained some form of alcohol - and took a sip.  _Dugout Inn's finest? I really don't want to find out what's the worst then._

"In fact, I can. Or well, could. Sensors stopped working thirty years ago, I think. Hey, since you fixed me back up again, you might as well have a go at it, doll. I don't think my arms have ever run as smoothly before. You seem to have a knack for repairing old junk."

"Stop that, Nick." Setting down her drink, she got up and sat down next to him on the old sofa. "You're not junk." She laid down with her head on his lap, staring up at his surprised face before closing her eyes and sighing softly. Suddenly all his movements stopped, from the nervous tapping of his fingers against the cigarette to the his usually very expressive face, he seemed to be completely frozen. Sole wondered if she had overstepped some boundary in their friendship when she felt something touch her hair carefully. She could feel how nervous he was, his hand weaving through her strands with feather light touches before growing bolder, encouraged by her content humming, finally moving up to touch her scalp and massaging it softly.

The creases in her brow and the constant frowning from all the stress disappeared and she relished the feeling of security, slowly drifting away, missing the way a pair of golden eyes watched her ever so fondly fall asleep, glowing in the dark of the sparsely lit corner, away from the judging stares of Dugout Inn's regulars.

•♦•

"Rise and shine, doll."

Instead of an actual reply, he only received some disgruntled huffs from the bundle of blankets beneath the stairs in his agency. The blankets moved slightly until a very disheveled and very grumpy head poked out somewhere in-between.

The most beautiful eyes of the whole Commonwealth stared at him, slightly narrowed, and he raised his hands in surrender, but couldn't help to smile. "C'mon, business awaits - 'another settlement needs your-'"

"Yes, yes, I get it. Be up in a minute." More rustling could be heard and he turned around to give her some privacy, silently chuckling to himself as he listened to her grumbling under her breath, something along the lines of  _'stupid Minutemen, stupid Preston, stupid Synths and their stupid lack of sleep, can't a woman get a fucking well-deserved break'_.

True to her word, she was ready to go withing the next couple minutes, thumping her head against his still turned back to alert him she was ready. "Next time you receive a message from the Minutemen, just tell that I'm currently unavailable, or wait, tell them I've died a heroic death trying to defend settlement number 64 and that they need to find themselves a new general."

Nick turned his head, sending her an unimpressed stare over his shoulder. "Sure, and let them hunt you down the next time they see you because they think the Institute replaced you with a Synth - no thanks." Making sure that he had everything with him for their next adventure  - his trusty gun, cigarettes, Stimpaks for Sole, more cigarettes just in case - he walked over to his desk, scribbling a note to Ellie saying they were heading out. God knew how much that woman worried over him sometimes.

"Sometimes I wish I was. I wouldn't have to sleep all the time - oh, and I wouldn't have to worry about whether or not that tato is radiated enough to kill me. Ugh, everything would be  _so_ much easier. Do you think we could just go to your best buddies and ask real nicely if they accept Gen3 orders?"

"You would seriously consider becoming a machine?" The look Nick gave her was a mixture of disbelief, a little bit shock and a pinch of amusement.

Sole shook her head and gathered her weapons, making sure she had enough ammo on her. "Seriously Nick, if you say that one more time I'll have to take away all of your cigarettes. I've never seen somebody so  _addicted_ -"

"You seem to be forgetting Hancock." Even if he tried, Nick couldn't stop smiling like a fool. No matter how much he hated the fact that there couldn't ever be more between him and Sole - a machine and a human being - he was content to be able to spend as much time with her as he did.

Sole huffed, grabbed her coat and left the agency with a smiling Synth in tow.

As it turned out, this was not a generic "help settlement number 64" situation where all she had to do was get rid of a handful Ferals or some wild dogs. The amount of Minutemen waiting for her to start the operation opposed to the usual solo missions were hint enough that this was something bigger.

Literally.

"So what you're saying is that there's a Deathclaw  _nest_ in the old radio tower two blocks away? How did that even happen?" Shaking her head, she could feel a headache forming. This was not going to be easy. "Do we know how many there are?"

A young man with freckles on his face sitting to her left answered, his hands tightly gripping onto his gun as if it was a lifeline. Which, perhaps, it was. "There's definitely two adults, so far nobody has seen any offspring."

"Hm. How do we know it really is a nest we're talking about?"

The man looked over to where some of the settlers were huddled together, nodding his head towards them. "One of them stumbled across it when he was searching the buildings for materials. Almost broke his leg. He claims to have counted around five eggs, but he ran away when he heard one of their parents returning."

"I don't like this, doll. Sounds like a death trap, no pun intended."

Sole hummed and clapped her trusted companion on his back. "I agree, Nick, but I'm not the General for no reason. And we can't exactly let a Deathclaw family stroll around through Lexington. Tell you what, after we're done here, I promise to take a look at those sensors of yours as promised, alright?"

"You better not get yourself killed, then." Sole rolled her eyes at him.

"Right. So, here's how we're going to do this", she began, turning back to the group of Minutemen. "We'll be going as pairs, surrounding the building, starting two blocks away from the target. Nick and I will approach from the west. Sarah and Mike will take the south. Bert and Dan from the east, and you two from the north. Avoid a fight at all costs. If you see anything, use your radio and get help. Your primary goal is to find the adults and warn the other groups. We'll be taking down the those first, see if the eggs are all intact and destroy the nest. Don't forget to look out for Ferals and all the other nasty things on your way. Check each other's backs. You'll have the next hour to get into position, we'll start at 1200, I'll give the go from my pip-boy. Everything clear?" Everyone nodded and she got up, brushing away the dirt on her armour and headed off towards the north-west, having to go around the target to reach their starting position.

"I think Preston was right to assign you as their General. I know you don't like being responsible for all these people, but you're doing a damn good job at it." From the corner of her eye she could see Nick staring fondly at her and she could feel her cheeks grow warm at his praise.

"Thanks. I just hope nobody gets hurt. Deathclaws are a pain in the ass."

"I hope so too, doll."

•♦•

When Nick said he was perfectly fine with spending time with Sole just so he could be close to her in some way, he didn't mean he'd willingly go on a Deathclaw hunt. Nasty things. He'd seen too many poor souls fall victim to these bloodthirsty beasts in his time as Commonwealth's only Synth detective, they were never quick to deliver the killing blow and liked to play with their prey. Honestly, he should have seen it coming. Luck never had been on their side with these things.

It was another ten minutes before the operation was supposed to start and they were almost there when his sensors registered a slight tremor shaking the ground in uneven intervals, almost like... steps. Without making a sound, he grabbed his partner's arm and pulled her to the side slowly, so he wouldn't alert whatever it was sneaking around them. They hid in a small gap between two buildings, barely wide enough for both of them and not very deep, and just in time as it seemed, when the rumbling became audible and the beast itself rounded the corner of the street they were on not a moment ago.

Sole fumbled with her pip-boy behind him, quickly alerting the rest of the team of their position, when they heard a roar followed by shouting and shooting a few blocks away. The Deathclaw stopped in its tracks to answer with a roar of its own and was about to head off in the direction of the others when Nick spotted a movement from the other side of the road. Synths.  _Wonderful._

Not wanting to be seen, Nick pressed himself further into the small gap, as far back as he could, and pulled Sole with him. Her eyes fixed him with a questioning gaze until she could hear the Synths coming closer, repeating orders to each other. Surprised, she gripped onto his trench-coat and pressed herself closer - not that they weren't already close, standing face to face, the walls pushing them together with barely any distance between them.

Perhaps this wasn't so bad, Nick idly thought, watching the patrol pass their hideout, engaging the murderous animal-turned-hideous-mutation with their laser pistols. He could stay like this forever. With the immediate threat gone - or well, busy with each other - he took a chance and glanced down, instantly regretting this decision. Crystal clear eyes were staring up at him, with a purity only pre-war things could have, their beauty putting everything this horrible world had to offer to shame. Her lips were slightly parted and gave her a look that took his breath away, and Nick made a strangled noise, overwhelmed by these feelings. Feeling so... vulnerable, human even.

He needed to distance himself, afraid of what she would see, afraid he was reading the signs wrong and made an utter fool of himself, but he  _couldn't_. Not with the way she was pulling at his coat, getting closer, her eyes flickering towards his lips and back up again, asking him silently if this was okay, if he wanted to... He would cry if he could, moved by how much she cared about him, a machine-

When her lips softly touched his, he could have sworn that somewhere something in his body short-circuited and he couldn't help but close his eyes and groan softly, having waited and dreamt about this moment for too long. He kissed back, pressing Sole to the wall behind her, hands on her hips, his body keeping her in place and she  _moaned_ as silently as she could. Nick could hear how the Gen1 patrol on the street got obliterated by the Deathclaw and was about to withdraw, when he heard more gunfire and the shouts of the rest of the team.

Only when they started calling out for them, worried, the two separated and together they stepped out from their spot, a little worse for wear and in Sole's case definitely flustered.

"See, everything is fine", she assured him when she saw that everyone was unharmed, squeezing his hand.

"Yeah, it went... better than anticipated." He smiled at her, squeezing back, delighted when she didn't let go of his hand - the metal one of all things! - and they set out to their original destination. There were some delicious eggs they still had to find, after all.


End file.
